Works for Me Wednesday

For the last 6 months I have been really thinking about how I can inspire the boys to be more helpful around the house.  I want to balance the feeling of "we are a family and we help out around here" with the feeling of "I can do this and I will earn my keep around here."  It is a hard balance and it is a hard thing to come up with when your children are in these younger years. 
The idea of allowances, rewards, internal motivation, etc.  just plain stresses me out.  There are so many strong views for and against all of these things. 

So here's where we are starting (thanks to my friend Sarah for getting me going with this system). 

Our struggle in the mornings has been mama begging, pleading, and eventually snapping and raising my voice to get certain tasks done that should to be independently accomplished.  So that is where we are at. 

The boys each have a chart that lists 4-6 tasks that are their "MUST DO" items for the morning.  They also have a "MUST DO" list for the late afternoon/evening.  These items might sound silly but they are the things that I want them to do without my nagging/ involvement. 

Their job is to conquer each of these "Must do" items with very little help from mama.  The first week or two I gave lots of reminders.  Then I let them go and just watched to see what happens.  Now they do them and forget to mark them...the goal.  FOR SURE. 

They use the white board marker to mark the task when they are completed.  Then they bring the chart to me and I will check them over quickly and give them a smiley sticker to put on the back.

So basically they have 2 chances to get a smiley sticker each day.  I did mention to them that if I saw some great helping out then they might receive a bonus sticker.  Their back sticker chart has 20 boxes.  So within 2 weeks they can earn the entire chart.  IF THEY DON'T FORGET.  The kicker - they have to do the entire list to earn a sticker.  If they do all of the items except one they don't get a sticker.  Makes it hard at first but easy as the parent to not have to argue.

Now the charts have taken a break because these items are happening pretty naturally.  And I have other things I am snapping about. haha.  So the lists might change now.  But for the time being I am leaving the lists and kicking it up a notch with some other opportunities.

These babies are put out there when the opportunities present themselves and they can choose to take on an extra duty around here.  This will help them earn an extra sticker.  I haven't totally decided if each task would earn a sticker or if they have to do three.  But when they choose to do one they can clip it to their board and I will then take care of things. 

I also have a few other clips that are colored differently.  These are new "job of the week" clips.  This week Henry is in charge of setting the table and Charley is in charge of clearing the table.  This clip is attached to their chart.  There has been no question about "what they get for this"  I have presented this task as "we are a family and this is how we help." 

Now, as they earn stickers they can cash them in for different "can do" choices..  Here are the items on our list for now.  These also can change or move around.

5 Smiles: 
Special Dessert with lunch
50cents
Mommy or Daddy will clean something up for you
Extra TV show or screen time
Treasure chest

10 Smiles:
$1.00
Shop the dollar section at Target
movie from redbox
donut for breakfast

15 Smiles:
$2.00
You choose dinner menu
ice cream or hot chocolate outing with mom or dad
mom joins you for lunch at school
craft from craft store

20 Smiles:
Pick out a book at the book store ($5.00 limit)
Mom brings special lunch to school
Play date
outing with mom OR dad
$5.00


So far Henry earned 20 smiles and chose the $5.00.  He is saving for a "BIG TOY".  Charley earned 20 stars and he can't decide what he wants. 

This is working just fine for us.  I wanted to give them opportunities to earn a little money and I am not/ we are not ready to move to an allowance system.  Totally overwhelming to think that whole deal out.  So this offers them the chance to earn some money and have the opportunity to spend and save.  Both boys got really cute wallets for Christmas and they are starting to think about their money.  It is so interesting to see how they think when it comes to spending, saving, giving, etc.

Chore charts and allowances are such an overwhelming thing since there are SO MANY ways to do things.  I think trial and error are okay. What works at this season might not work when the kids are older.  I think letting the kids know that we are trying this for now and it might change is okay.  This whole parenting gig is learn as you go.  And it is okay to realize that something is or isn't working. 

What are your strategies for chores, allowances, etc.

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday here. 

Yummy Banana Boats...

Today we took some overly ripe bananas.

Some chocolate chips.

Some marshmallows.

And some tinfoil.

I cut a flap in the banana and scooped out a bit of the banana.

The boys filled them up with the chocolate chips and marshmallows.

We covered them with the banana skin.

Wrapped them in tinfoil and baked them at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.  Or you could put them on the grill or the bonfire. 

And BAM!  A yummy treat on a Wednesday afternoon.

All three of us enjoyed this yummy treat!

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family.

Works for me Wednesday - Pencil entertainment

When in doubt...

find all the pencils in your house that need to be sharpened.

And put your little man to work...

what boy doesn't enjoy taking a blunt object and making it sharp?!

This post is linked to We Are that Family's Works For Me Wednesday post.

Works for Me Wednesday: We LOVE reading!

We have always had an abundant amount of books in our house for our boys. Since I am taking a break from teaching I have actually made my classroom library available to them.  We have multiple bookshelves and many baskets in our house and in our car.  Typically I keep a bucket of books by our fireplace that pertain to the season at hand...holidays, weather, what have you.

Recently, I went to a book party...selling wonderful books for children. Like Ed said, "We don't need more books!" But reading is so much more fun as a parent when the books aren't always the same ones (even though repetition is so important at the younger ages). At the book party, (which I will be co-hosting one on September 28th with a friend and if you live in the area and are interested let me know so I make sure to get the invite to you) the gal went over some great reminders on helping to instill a love of reading with your child.

One of the ideas she gave was instead of having bookshelves, store your books in buckets/baskets/bins throughout your house. Make them available in spots that invite a child to pause and grab a book (near the kitchen table, by the potty, in the car, by couches and chairs, in corners of the house they retreat to since all kids love nooks and crannies). Buckets are less intimidating, they can easily browse through and find books because we all know that we tend to judge a book by the cover.  And it is pretty hard to see the cover when they are jammed on a bookshelf.
This all made sense to me. I used this strategy in my classroom. I had buckets separated out so children could grab buckets on different themes and topics. They were in different places in the room and they were easy for the children to browse and see the covers.

The next day I went to pick up Charley from a play date and noticed a basket of books by her kitchen table...one of the places the book lady said is a must for a book basket. I asked the mom and she said that her kids start the morning eating breakfast and devouring books. She said the rule is only during breakfast - not during lunch or dinner. She said her kids love it and it is such a nice start to the day.

So I have expanded our book baskets throughout the house. We have one in our kitchen, one or two in our main living area, one by the potty chair, Charley's books in his room are now in baskets so at night before bed he can grab a bucket instead of a pile accumulating on the floor. The baskets can be swapped around.

And it is working...when all is quiet and still in our house I find that my boys are NOT getting into trouble...but rather are sitting side by side on a couch or chair looking at books.

I am going to try hard to commit to posting more on my love of reading and my passion for raising readers (in my house and in the classroom) to celebrate the kick off of the school year.  Stay tuned! 

This is linked to We Are That Family's Works for Me Wednesday post. 

Works for me Wednesday - tacos and kiddos

I am a huge advocate of letting kids be kids with food.  When they are beginning with food let them get messy - even if it means taking off their clothes and having the bathtub filled.  They figure out spoons, forks, making it into their mouth, and a love for eating if they are given the freedom and the encouragement....that is not to say that I am not one swearing under my breath as I wipe up the mess (or more often it is my husband).

My boys love tacos but tacos can be intimidating because as an adult a lot of the taco ends up back on my plate... so to contemplate letting a child 2-7 years old at one can be a disturbing thought to a mother who will end up with much of their child's taco filling on the floor. We solved that problem, or at least minimized it, by using tinfoil. We wrap the bottom with it and adjust as the children eat. Do you have a solution for taco eating....

 This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Brotherly Banter

My boys are buddies.  Good buddies.  They just had a wonderful week together up north at the cottage.  They get along fantastically...most of the time.  But lately, I can tell Henry, age 2 1/2, is picking up on language from his bigger brother.  I can't help but smile at the things that I am hearing come from his mouth - yet it also bothers me a lot!

Top 5 things I heard Henry say today, with the right attitude to boot!

1.  I VERY mad at you.
2.  I tell on you.
3.  I don't want to play with you.
4.  I don't like you.
5.  Bad baby!

These are things that he MUST be hearing from Charley because Ed and I DO NOT walk around saying them.  Charley reacts with fake and exaggerated pain when Henry says these things.  

The brotherly banter has begun.  It will drive me insane but also makes me smile, just a little bit. 

Works for me Wednesday: Bee Sting Survival 101

We were at the park at grandmas and Charley got a bee/ wasp sting. He cried. It. hurts.

On our walk home from the park Grandma Charlie dug back into her bee sting survival tip files and thought she remembered something about using mustard to help a bee sting. When we got home she decided to look online to make sure it was mustard...because that didn't seem quite right.

SOY SAUCE!

Charley hesitated when we told him that soy sauce could help the bee sting. So Grandma put a little soy sauce on the band aid and then stuck that on the little bulls eye sting mark.

SERIOUSLY, within 2 hours the bulls eye was gone and the swelling was gone. His arm looked like nothing had happened to it.

SOY SAUCE! I know I will be grabbing up some small to go packets next time the opportunity arises to stick in my first aid kit.

This post is linked to We are THAT family's Works for me Wednesday.

Each Morning I Pray it Bubbles Forth

Lately, as I roll out of bed I give myself a pep talk ...something like...

"Today is going to be a great day.  The boys are going to be happy.  They are going to get along.  They are going to be entertained in safe and content play.  Patience is going to bubble abundently from my pores.  It is going to be a great summer day."

And within 20 minutes of all of us downstairs I am saying,
"Don't hit your brother.  Go up to your room if you are going to respond like that (Charley tends to fall apart if Henry picks the wrong spoon to eat his breakfast with).  Stop jumping on the couch.  Find something to play with.  Put on some pants.  Stay in your seat while you are eating."  And the one liners that burst my bubbles of patience errupt and don't stop ALL. DAY. LONG.

I appreciate that I am home spending my days with these two little gems.  And it weighs heavy when my patience doesn't flow from me like this...

But children have minds and moods of their own.  And they don't always all flow with each other or myself.  Every morning I hope to surround them in an environment of patience.

I know they are learning, exploring, and trying to manage the hundreds of emotions that come with hanging out everyday together.  But in reality, I am a normal mom, who has moments where my patience bubbles forth in small golf ball sized amounts ...and other times when it flows out like basketball sized abundance.  All I can say...is I appreciate when the size of my patience matches the need at the moment.

When in doubt, even on the most humid day...for example this day when I snapped these pictures, grab yourself a sparkling lemonade and your lawn chair.  Grab the dollar bin bubble blowers from Target and GET. SOME. FRESH. HUMID. AIR.  Because it is true what they say...15 minutes of fresh air can change the moods of all.

Kabobs = KABAM!

Grocery shopping lately has me bringing home loads of fresh fruit. I can't resist the cherries, grapes, pineapple, strawberries, and more. With both my first pregnancies fruit was something that ALWAYS tasted good...especially oranges. Lately, I can eat two oranges in about 10 minutes standing in the kitchen around 9:15 at night. And all is right in the world.

Henry my picky eater is less enthused about fruit much of the time. So I found these long skewers and washed up some of the yummy fruit purchases and put them to work.  We used bing cherries that I pitted, orange, grapes, blueberries, and pineapple.

They say that getting kids involved in making the meal will encourage them to try new things. While Henry was making his fruit kabob he tried an orange and "like this mama." And he tried a pineapple, "Like this mama! see!" "watch me!"

So if you have a picky eater...give fruit kabobs a try....or as a matter a fact, throw anything on a sword stick and you might find you have found yourself success with a picky eater!


This post is linked to Worked for Me Wednesdays.

One Evening....2 different boys in green

Standing on the Edge of Summer!

Standing on the edge of summer

2 little boys

BROTHERS.

A mother realizing that these are the best days.

They are going way to fast.

And to sit in a beach chair and take in their joy is splendid.

There is nothing like it.

Sunscreen applied.

Heads topped with summer hats.

2 hours of sun at the beach with friends.

Nourished with PB & J sandwiches, grapes, and Cheetoes.  

Nothing tastes better.

Playing Sand Monster!

Pouring buckets of water in the sand just to see what happens.

Ball tag in water chest deep.

Realizing that your boys are playing in the lake without fear of what is below.

Proud mama!

Our first trip to the beach was a success.  

And I love that I can take my two boys without stress or worry. 

I relaxed, sighed, and enjoyed my time with them. 

And I could even imagine next summer...with another little joy sitting at my feet...trying to eat the sand.  EEEEK!  Can't wait!

Works for me Wednesday: Easy gift idea

As the end of the school year came to a close my mind raced for a teacher gift idea.  Then I remembered my notecard gift idea.  Throughout the year if I come across cute notecards...blank, thank you, birthday, etc.   I buy them and stash them in a box.  When it comes time to give a thank you gift I pull a few cards from each pack and make an assortment of fun notecards.  I tied them up with a ribbon and done!  Who doesn't need a fun stash of blank notecards in their desk drawer!  Michaels craft store and Target have great blank cards in their dollar sections.  Charley's main teacher of course got a larger stack but each teacher helper was also given a little something.   


For many years of my life, mostly when I was in college, my mom  would give my sister and I a box of cards for Christmas.  NOT a premade box of cards....rather, she went and handpicked a selection of cards with different themes (birthday, thank you, friendship, romance, grief, thinking of you...etc).  It was probably our favorite gift each year.  It might be silly to think of someone giving you cards that you would potentially send to someone who you are falling in love with, celebrating their birthday, or grieving for a loved one....but cards are expensive and a great card can be picked out and appreciated by anyone.  I LOVED this gift. 

I will bow my head in shame and admit that I don't send as many cards these days.  Friends go without birthday cards or cards of friendship.  Family don't receive Easter cards....I do however, have a card box, stuffed to the gills.  Filled with fun cards ready when the moment is there.  Because, who doesn't love going to the mailbox and to find something personal and thoughtful waiting with the electric bill.

This post is linked to We are That Family's Works for Me Wednesday post. 

Works for Me Wednesday: Paint brushes + water = summer fun

Grab some paint brushes, sponge brushes, sponges, and a bucket of water and your kids will be busy "painting" without a mess!  Thanks to my mom for this idea that has been a favorite for many summers so far! 


This post is linked to We Are that Family's Works for Me Wednesday.

Works for Me Wednesday: What to do with Stickers...

When I was little I had a bunch of sticker albums, regular old photo albums that I filled with stickers. I organized them, traded the stickers with friends, sat and looked at them, and probably eased my mom's worries of finding stickers stuck where they should NOT be stuck.

A while back I got Charley a sticker album and it was well loved. It was time for Henry to start collecting his own stickers, too. So I got each of the boys a new sticker book and the last few nights we have added stickers to the books...slowly and together. I figure if I can get them started then they can take over.

When they get stickers out and about they know they can bring them home and stick them in their book - and keep them "forever."

This post is linked to We are That Family's Works for Me Wednesday bloghop.

Works-For-Me- Wednesday : How much is too much TV?

We have had a good run lately and the TV has not been the most demanded form of entertainment in our house.  But we do go through chunks where "Can we watch a show?" is the question that is asked and whined over and over during the day.  The last time that it really started to get on my nerves I came up with something to try to manage our TV watching.  I was also stressed that they were spending too much screen time.  So for just a few days (not always, and forever - just a few days) I put this system into action.

We had two cups.  One held three Popsicle sticks that Charley decorated.  The other said TV cup on it.  (I know super creative!)

In the morning he got to put his three sticks in the plain empty cup.  During the day when he wanted to watch a show he had to take a stick and bring it to me and put it in the TV cup.  By doing this he was aware that he only had one or two sticks left.

The first day he was in tears because he used them all up in the morning.  But soon he learned that he needed to spread them out throughout the day.  During this first experience with this I also banned TV from 8 until 12:30 each day.  I figured one cartoon to wake up to....and then he could watch one in the afternoon during Henry's nap...and one around supper time when I was making dinner.  It worked slick.  It gave him the power over his TV shows - and we all know how much they love to have power.  And when the whining about a show began I told him to go get a stick - and if there weren't any sticks left - he had himself to deal with. 

I have the cups tucked up on our kitchen counter and Charley asks to "do" them every once in awhile.  I also noticed after we first used this strategy that my kids didn't watch "too much" TV.  It just seemed like it to me...because I am a mama that gets paranoid over screen time.  I have also used them to monitor the combined screen options in our house...video games, computer, and TV.

How do you deal with your child's need to watch a show?  The whining? Demanding? and your own personal restrictions on how much you want them to have in front of the tv?

You can go here for more Works for Me Wednesday posts.

Works-For- Me- Wednesday

A friend recently asked me for ideas on what to feed their little eater.

(child between the ages of 1 and 3)

One of my boys favorites was/is oatmeal but from a bowl with a spoon wasn't going to happen until much later.  I also had trouble with getting it to cool fast enough...because when they are hungry...THEY. ARE. HUNGRY.

So I started spreading it out on a plate.  I noticed as it cooled it would harden up just enough that I could plop chunks on their tray and they could easily pick it up.  As they got older (like Henry is now) he could scoop it off the plate easy enough.

This gave them independence but was a tad bit less messy!

For more fun you could put a cookie cutter on the plate...pour a little oatmeal in the cookie cutter and when it cools enough remove the cookie cutter and you will have a cute shape for them to devour.

Pop over here for more moms that are workin' it!